Vikings: 9-6
Bills: 5-10
1. Points per game: Vikings - 22.8; Bills - 21.1
2. Rushing yards/game: Vikings - 161.1; Bills - 140.5
3. Rushing yards/carry: Vikings - 5.4; Bills - 5.1
4. Rushing TDs: Vikings - 15; Bills - 10
5. Fumbles: Vikings - 9; Bills - 6
6. Passing yards/game: Vikings - 168.3; Bills - 202.9
7. Passing yards/attempt: Vikings - 5.9; Bills - 6.6
8. Passing TD's: Vikings - 15; Bills - 23
9. INT's: Vikings - 12; Bills - 17
10. Defense pts/game: Vikings - 20.9; Bills - 28.4
11. Defense yds/game: Vikings - 346.3; Bills - 364.9
12. Sacks: Vikings - 31; Bills - 30
13. INT's: Vikings - 12; Bills - 17
14. Forced Fumbles: Vikings - 13; Bills - 18
Looking at those numbers, a few surprise me: we have basically the same amount of sacks, have more INT's, and have more forced fumbles than the Vikings.
Considering we're 4 games apart, the numbers are pretty much balanced and even; The vikings are a little better at running the ball, the bills are a little better at passing the ball, they score about the same amount of points; bills give up a few more points, but that could also be chalked up to several complete blowouts.
I'm not sure what the exact strength of schedule is, but i can assure you that the Vikings had a tougher schedule than we did after looking at their schedule. So with similar #'s to the bills, and a tougher schedule than the Bills, they somehow manage to be 4 games better than the bills.
The ultimate difference between teams probably comes down to coaching (preparing to execute when it matters most in a game), and mental toughness as a team..which can also go back to coaching.
It's pretty sad to look at those numbers and see how close we are on paper to a possibly playoff birth yet somehow in reality, we're still so far away.